Screen Use and Kids' Eye Health with Dr. Janet Wilson, OD, FCOVD, Optometrist (#73)

Today Melanie talks with Pediatric Optometrist, Dr. Janet Wilson, who has  practiced as a developmental functional vision specialist over the past 13 years. Janet is also mother to a 3-year old son and is actively parenting a low-tech lifestyle with him. 

Janet discusses how visual development is linked to other childhood developmental milestones that actually assist children in gaining 17 visual skills as they grow. She goes on to explain what is at risk when we interrupt child development with exposure to hand-held screens and how we may be unknowingly affecting our children’s lifelong skill development. 

Janet also identifies three problem areas she sees in her field of practice that are related to the overuse of screens: vision and learning, the increase in diagnosis of myopia or nearsightedness, and the increase in dry-eye disease in teenagers.  

This episode is wonderfully educational as well as encouraging parents to protect eye health by less exposure to screens and more interactive play in nature and in our daily lives as we are raising our children.